4 No More Quarreling / 04

On the platinum crystal Mickey coffee table, a vintage wooden tube clock placed in the corner had just struck eleven in the evening.

Sheng Huaining slammed the door and collapsed onto the sofa as if her body had no bones.

Persuading that couple had been such a hassle.

In the end, they each had to give a little ground.

Sheng Luanjing no longer interfered with Sheng Huaining’s performances, but that didn’t mean he supported them.

Meanwhile, Sheng Huaining promised Shen Shicen that as long as she wasn’t working, she would visit Zilan Villa often.

She leaned sideways onto the sofa, feeling much better, even finding the leisure to wiggle the foot clad in mink slippers, chasing the shadows under the coffee table.

But fate had other plans.

The phone, buried deep in the corner, suddenly vibrated, ringing one call after another.

Even her toes could guess who it was.

She coughed softly twice, stretched out her arm, and carefully tapped the screen to answer.

As soon as she picked up, Luo Zhi burst out anxiously, “Sheng Huaining, Dita, guess where I am right now?”

Sheng Huaining lifted her eyes and exhaled, playing along, “A pub? The mall? A restaurant? Your place or mine?”

“Smart, half correct. I’m at the studio less than five hundred meters from your home, waiting for you to practice,” Luo Zhi added for Sheng Huaining’s benefit. “But I think the young lady must be busy and forgot, not deliberately stood me up. Don’t you think so?”

Before the words ended, Sheng Huaining sat up sharply, pressing her fingers to her forehead in frustration.

She smiled and responded, “Yes, exactly. My friend is hosting an art dinner and asked for my help, so I completely forgot.”

“Alright, no argument. Don’t let it happen again.”

Luo Zhi’s fury immediately dissipated; the questions and accusations lodged in her throat were swallowed back.

The two had known each other for seven years, both as mentor and friend.

After Sheng Huaining graduated university, it was through Luo Zhi’s recommendation that she had the chance to study under the renowned cellist Elodie.

Only after numerous assessments and complicated procedures did Elodie agree to take her on.

Hard work pays off.

With her striking appearance and extraordinary musical skill, Sheng Huaining had built considerable popularity through international competitions and immediately received many performance invitations, including a continuous stream of solo concerts.

Over time, both Sheng Huaining and Luo Zhi grew somewhat overwhelmed.

Thus, once returning to their homeland, they chose the most suitable among many offered opportunities and signed a three-year management contract, entrusting both performances and business affairs.

Previously, the eve of a show was Sheng Huaining’s time for adjustment and rest.

If Sheng Huaining hadn’t suddenly expressed a desire to rehearse tonight, Luo Zhi would never have wasted her usual Thursday full-body spa time waiting at the studio.

Fortunately, Luo Zhi had a good temper and knew Sheng Huaining was responsible enough not to jeopardize tomorrow night’s performance; otherwise, she would have stormed Sheng Huaining’s home in a rage.

Silence stretched on the other end of the line for too long; Sheng Huaining smiled faintly, intending to spark some conversation.

As she reached for the charger on the coffee table, her eyes caught the bracelet lying next to a crystal cup.

It was the one He Chenye had given her just a few hours ago.

Dropping a sesame seed to lose a watermelon.

Sheng Huaining released her hold and instead picked up the bracelet, excitedly heading to the walk-in closet.

The tall, tea-colored glass cabinet lit up warmly upon sensing her presence.

An island cabinet with staggered heights stood in the center; Sheng Huaining pulled open the top drawer.

Inside were various pearls sorted meticulously by material and style, snugly fitted into each small compartment.

She struggled to remove the entire bottom layer and laid them out on the gold-threaded handmade carpet that covered the whole room, scanning from left to right.

Suddenly, she furrowed her brow and couldn’t help but utter, “Huh?”

The call was still connected when Luo Zhi, stepping out of the studio elevator, heard the sound and curiously asked, “What’s wrong?”

Sheng Huaining switched to speakerphone and lay back on the carpet.

Beneath the clear crystal chandelier above, she held up both bracelets before her eyes; two identical bracelets sparkling.

The one she rubbed with her fingertip showed worn edges and visible signs of use.

The other had no blemishes, clearly recently purchased.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.

Sheng Huaining glanced at the active call screen and called out vaguely, “Sister Zhi.”

Luo Zhi froze, a chill running over her body; clutching her chest, she sighed, “Don’t call me that—nothing good ever comes from it.”

“Manager Luo.”

“That sounds better. So, what’s going on?”

Sheng Huaining stared quietly for a few seconds, then lowered her gaze and carefully returned the bracelet, fearing scratching it. She placed the new one inside a dust-proof velvet pouch.

She said slowly, “After meeting my friend tonight, I ran into someone strange.”

“Male or female?”

“Male.”

“Handsome?”

“He’s handsome,” she blurted out, then realized, “Who asked you to care? You’re weirder than that guy.”

Luo Zhi leaned forward in the car, laughing softly while starting the engine, stammering, “Okay, okay, I won’t interrupt. You... you go on.”

Sheng Huaining’s palms grew slightly sweaty and clammy; she became guarded.

“That evening I caught a ride with that man, and it turns out he lives in the same residential complex and building as me. Later, he said I left a bracelet in his car and kindly came to return it.”

“I accepted it because I do have an identical one, but just now I found mine in the island cabinet,” her mind buzzing. “Do you think he did it on purpose? How could someone forget such an expensive item they bought themselves?”

“Are you saying he’s trying to hit on you?” Luo Zhi cut right to the chase.

Raising her eyelids, Sheng Huaining hurriedly denied, “No, no, don’t say that.”

Her emotions churned, as if Luo Zhi had hit on her secret thoughts. She started to ramble, “Manager Luo, shouldn’t you be worried about my safety at a time like this? Maybe he has ill intentions.”

Putting on her earphones and driving home, Luo Zhi calmly helped her sort through her thoughts. “Dita, in just a few hours, you took his car and went home with him. If he had bad intentions, would you still be able to tell me all this now?”

“Oh.”

She replied drowsily, “You’re talking nonsense again. What do you mean I went home with him? You’re so annoying, I’m hanging up.”

—

The sound of running water in the bathroom lasted nearly an hour, soon replaced by the hum of a hairdryer.

Sheng Huaining’s cheeks were flushed from the steam as she stood before the sink, tidying her glossy black waist-length curls.

Her bright eyes were sometimes as clear as stars, sometimes misty like fog.

At last, she put away her things and tossed them into the laundry basket, pondering as she returned to the bedroom with her phone.

The ultra-soft large bed lay with neatly spread bedding.

Sheng Huaining pulled the covers over herself, curling into a small ball.

Closing her eyes to summon sleep failed, so she reached for her phone to pass the time.

Midnight was the most impulsive hour.

She adjusted her mood, found the newly saved number in her contacts, and dialed.

No busy signal came; instead, a mechanical female voice announced the other party was on a call.

She chuckled, amused.

Burning the midnight oil chatting on the phone—typical hypocrite!

She tossed and turned, unable to sleep all night, troubled.

She still couldn’t understand: can someone really forget they bought something? Such a large expense—how could it be forgotten so easily?

Oh, maybe an old man would forget.

Collecting herself, Sheng Huaining was momentarily stunned.

Perhaps the bracelet belonged to another woman!

If so, she definitely couldn’t keep it and must return it quickly.

She called again, but it was still busy.

Sheng Huaining laughed at her own odd behavior.

Over such a trivial matter, she was losing sleep—why?

Suddenly sitting up, her eyes wide open, she silently gasped.

Recalling all that happened last night—first she left her bag hanging on the man’s car side mirror, then asked for his contact, then he kindly gave her a ride after her car broke down, and finally, he mistakenly returned the bracelet to the wrong person.

As for the man complimenting the doll she designed on the way back, that was just an ordinary occurrence.

Smooth, hypocritical, a polished scoundrel—maybe it was all her imagination.

The wealthy young masters of Gang City were notoriously fickle, juggling actresses and models endlessly.

Many had tried courting her before, but she never cared.

Why then was this stranger who she only just met causing such turmoil?

It must be the nerves before the performance playing tricks on her mind.

Sheng Huaining closed her eyes and fell back onto the bed, exhaling deeply.

Then, with politeness and restraint, she sent a text message.

To prevent her message from being filtered as spam, she searched for the number in WeChat and added it as a contact.

Only then did she remember He Chenye already had her contact info—there was no way her message would be filtered out.

Ahhh—

She felt like she was going crazy, quickly tossing aside her phone and pulling the blanket over her face.

Sleep, sleep—nighttime was when intelligence slipped away.

—

He Chenye kept a very regular biological clock.

He went to bed promptly at ten, woke at six to do cardio, had breakfast at seven-thirty, left at eight-thirty, and arrived at the company by nine.

He had a habit.

To avoid missing important calls, he set his phone to Do Not Disturb before sleeping.

The first call would get a busy tone, but a quick second call would trigger ring and vibration alerts on his end.

So, upon waking, he immediately noticed missed calls and unread messages in his notification bar.

His brows furrowed as he swiped to check.

After a moment, he replied.

Compared to He Chenye’s early-to-bed, early-to-rise routine, Sheng Huaining woke up at two in the afternoon.

If it weren’t for the performance, she might have slept until evening.

Half-closing her eyes, yawning, she switched off the alarm.

As her vision cleared, she lay on her side, unlocked her phone, which happened to open on WeChat.

Messages kept streaming in, quickly pushing earlier ones below.

After washing up, she felt a scratchy throat—surely from staying up too late and catching a cold.

She went to the kitchen for a glass of kale juice, taking it with some throat lozenges.

Only after setting down the crystal cup did she remember the message she sent He Chenye had gone unanswered.

Her temper flared; she dialed again.

The call was answered just before it would have automatically hung up, the voice deliberately lowered: “Miss Sheng.”

Sheng Huaining thought for a moment, then said, “You didn’t reply to my message, so I’m calling.”

He Chenye waved his assistant to start the meeting first, then holding the phone, stepped into the corridor outside the conference room and raised his voice slightly.

“Miss Sheng, I did reply on WeChat.”

“Oh, did you?” Sheng Huaining opened WeChat and scrolled down a long way to find it.

[He: Okay, you arrange it.]

“I... didn’t see the message in time. Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“No problem. Miss Sheng, anything else?”

She had planned to wait until all performances were done before inviting He Chenye to dinner, but now the bracelet felt like a hot potato—better to resolve it quickly.

She decided not to wait, “You said to let me arrange it—are you free at nine tonight?”

He Chenye was momentarily surprised, glanced at his watch.

After a pause, he said, “I’m free. Miss Sheng, would it be alright if I bring someone along?”

Sheng Huaining: ???